View source for Class One Farmyard Fun by Julia Jarman and Lynne Chapman

{{infobox2
|title=Class One Farmyard Fun
|author=Julia Jarman and Lynne Chapman
|reviewer=Ruth Ng
|genre=For Sharing
|summary=A lively and colourful tale, with some super illustrations (if a disappointing rhyme scheme) about a rather dangerous class trip to a farm.
|rating=3.5
|buy=maybe
|borrow=yes
|pages=32
|publisher=Hodder Children's Books
|date=May 2017
|isbn=9781444927153
|website=http://www.juliajarman.com/
|video=
|aznuk=1444927159
|aznus=1444927159
|cover=1444927159
}}
 
When Class One go on a trip to the farm, the day is not plain sailing.  The teacher's traumas don't revolve around the usual 'who will be sick on the coach' issues however, and instead relate to one rather grumpy farmyard animal - the bull!  All sorts of trauma ensues when the bull escapes from his field, and it takes a lot of the children working together to be able to catch him back in his field and lock him up.  All things considered, this probably isn't the best book for any teachers to read aloud the day before a school trip...
 
There are some wonderful illustrations in this story.  They're all colourful, and lively, with a lot going on in every scene that you can spend some time looking over, such as the two geese in a rowing boat, the sheep who is knitting, and the calf collecting milkshakes from the cows!  The children are a delightful mixture of cute and naughty, and the animals are all very entertaining.  The plot is also a good one, since school trips are always something of a highlight for children, and often result in memorable stories.  In a one-to-one read you can spend quite some time discussing school trips in general, farmyards and animals, as well as what you can specifically see happening in the story.
 
Unfortunately, I felt that the rhyming text lets the book down somewhat.  Although it's funny in places (the word 'plops' for poo is always going to raise a giggle!) I found it a little hard to read on a first attempt, as the lines don't always scan very well. I sometimes had to take a second attempt at a line to get the rhythm right when reading aloud.  This obviously isn't ideal, so my tip would be to take a good look through first, to get the idea before you start.  Some of the rhymes are also a little off (frown and round), but if you read it with plenty of excitement then it pulls together okay.
 
The story does contain mild peril with the attacking bull, but don't worry, nobody is seriously injured!   Give it the once-over before you buy, to see how you feel about the rhymes and the rhythm.  Small children will still undoubtedly enjoy the silliness, and I really liked the pictures!
 
Further reading suggestion: For more school delights, you might also enjoy [[Oh, Boris! by Carrie Weston and Tim Warnes]] or [[The Everywhere Bear by Julia Donaldson and Rebecca Cobb]].

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[[Category:Julia Jarman]]
[[Category:Lynne Chapman]]